TORONTO — The Canadian dollar made headway Thursday as oil prices rose while the U.S. dollar weakened amid relief that German lawmakers voted in favour of a strengthened bailout fund to help European countries stuck in debt crises.

The currency rose 0.23 of a cent to 97.07 cents US.

The European debt crisis has weighed heavily on markets recently due to fears that Greece is on the brink of a default, which would send shock waves through the global economy, particularly in Europe, and wreak havoc on the continent’s banking sector.

The German lawmakers were voting on European leaders’ decision in July to increase the effective lending capacity of the so-called European Financial Stability Facility, or EFSF fund to euro440 billion. It would also give it new powers, such as buying the bonds of shaky countries or lending money to governments before they get into a full-blown crisis.

Oil prices headed higher with the November crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange up $1.29 to US$82.50 a barrel.

Metal prices again retreated as the December bullion contract slipped $1.20 to US$1,616.19 while December copper declined five cents to US$3.20 after closing Wednesday at its lowest level since August, 2010. Copper is widely considered a proxy for the overall economy.

On the economic front, traders were encouraged by news that the U.S. economy actually grew slightly more than previously thought during the second quarter. Gross domestic product grew by an annualized rate of 1.3 per cent, up from a previous estimate of one per cent.

Also, U.S. claims for jobless insurance dropped 37,000 last week to 391,000.